Tedder (machine)

The original tedder is a farm tool on two wheels pulled by a horse; the rotation of the axle drives a gear which operates a "number of arms with wire tines or fingers at the lower ends.

[10] A later "English hay-tedder" uses two separate cylinders with rotating forks that can be reversed to lay the hay down lightly for improved exposure to air.

[11] American machines, such as those made by companies such as Garfield, Mudgett, and Bullard (Ezekiel W. Bullard of Barre, Massachusetts, is credited in one source with the invention of the machine, nicknamed "the grasshopper"),[12] typically used a system with a revolving crank in the middle of the arm and a lever at the upper end,[9] or a system whereby rotating wheels moved the forks up and down.

[14] Some tedders have the rotating tines enclosed inside a solid structure to increase the force applied to the hay.

[19] It also resulted in greater economy, since cut grass could be turned into hay the same day[20] even if it had become wet or been trampled by horses [21] and before its nutritional value could be reduced by repeated soaking from rain.